The present invention relates to a lever-fitting type connector that allows female and male connector housings to be engaged to and disengaged from each other by an operator's rotational manipulation of a lever.
FIG. 1 shows a bolt-fitting type connector where female and male connector housings are engaged with each other by rotation of a bolt (Japanese Patent Publication laid-open No. 11-54203). In this bolt-fitting type connector in the figure, a female connector housing 100 is provided with a bolt 102. The bolt 102 is rotatably inserted into a bolt hole 101 formed in the female connector housing 100. In engaging the female connector housing 100 with a not-shown male connector housing, the leading end of the bolt 102 is screwed into a nut fixed on the male connector housing and successively rotated with respect to the nut, so that the female and male connector housings get close to each other for integration.
Note, the above-mentioned connector is equipped with a plurality of male terminals (metal fittings) projecting from a fitting surface of the male connector housing (not shown). In order to accomplish certain engagement between the male connector housing and the female connector housing 100 while maintaining respective distances among the male terminals appropriately, there is used a not-shown plate called “moving plate”, which has small holes (terminal insertion holes) formed to allow the male terminals to be inserted thereinto respectively, corresponding to respective positions of the male terminals. The above “moving plate” is formed so as to be temporarily engageable with respective tips of the male terminals projecting from the fitting surface of the male connector housing and also passing through the terminal insertion holes respectively. In other words, the moving plate is provided with temporary engagement parts for temporary engagement with the male connector housing. In engaging the female connector housing with the male connector housing, the moving plate in temporary engagement with the male connector housing is urged by the leading surface of the female connector housing. Then, the male connector housing is configured to slide toward the backside of the male connector housing while maintaining respective distances among the male terminals.
In reality of the above-mentioned bolt-fitting type connector, however, it is often the case that if pressures of the temporary engagement parts acting on the male connector housing differ from each other slightly, then the moving plate slides toward the backside of the male connector housing while being inclined to the male connector housing. Such an inclination of the moving plate to the male connector housing may cause the above distances among the male terminals to be varied by the moving plate forcibly, exerting an influence on smooth engagement between the male terminals and female terminals (not shown) in the female connector housing. In some cases, there is a possibility that the male and female terminals are damaged disadvantageously.